Remote Lands

Myanmar (Burma)

Suggested Itinerary

Day 1 – Yangon

VIP arrival in Yangon (Rangoon), and check into the famed Strand Hotel, Yangon's opulent colonial masterpiece, where such luminaries as Graham Greene, Somerset Maugham, and George Orwell have stayed.

Visit the International Buddhist University and join 500 monks for lunch (their dinner, and last meal of the day before noon) and learn about their age-old traditions. This will be followed by a head shaving ceremony, part of the novitiation (monk ordination) celebration that all young monks go through.

Spend the afternoon at the spectacular and seemingly endless Shwedagon Pagoda, Burma's most sacred temple and one of the world's great manmade wonders. Shwedagon is very much a working temple, filled with pilgrims and monks and other devout Buddhists practicing their faith. Watch the sunset from Shwedagon, a truly spiritual event for even the most jaded.

Have dinner with a prominent local family in their home, and learn from them about Burma's rich culture and history.

Day 2 – Yangon

Visit the 70-year-old Bogyoke Aung Sun Market, where thousands of shops and hawkers peddle everything from Burmese silk and rattan to traditional musical instruments and tea.

Go to the Myanmar Martial Arts Gym for a lesson in Myanmar Letwae (Myanmar kickboxing), which differs from its Thai counterpart in that it is done without gloves. Chat with the students and get hands-on insight into this ancient sport (dating back to the 15th-century Bagan Era). Take a few of the boxers out to lunch at their favorite local restaurant, and hear from them about their lives and their sport.

Finish the afternoon at the famed Shwe Phone Pwint Pagoda, site of Yangon's fortune-telling community, where over 30 astrology and fortune telling shops engage in one of Myanmar's oldest and most revered pastimes.

For dinner, go to the home of a famous Burmese chef, who will give a fascinating cooking demonstration and tasting during cocktails. Afterwards, sit down with the chef and her family and feast on local delicacies including various hin (curries), thouq (spicy salads), mohinga (fish soup with noodles) and of course the staple food of rice

Day 3 – Inle Lake

Fly to Heho airport, and then drive about 45 minutes through the lovely countryside to Inle Lake, a unique and extremely picturesque area known for its "one-legged fishermen", who have highly eccentric method of boat-rowing with one leg.

Visit the floating markets and floating villages, and have tea in the home of one of the families. Marvel at the floating farms that grow fruit, vegetables and flowers literally on the surface of the lake.

Check into the deluxe boutique Inle Princess Resort, have lunch, and treat yourself to a relaxing massage at the spa. Have sunset cocktails at the bar, before a specially arranged dinner for two on a terrace overlooking the lake.

Day 4 – Mandalay

Visit the fascinating tribal market in the morning and buy local Burmese handicrafts such as teak woodcarvings, pottery and textiles.

Take a short flight to Mandalay, Myanmar's cultural center and the ancient royal capital of the last Burmese monarchy, in time for lunch.

>Stroll across the nearby U Bein's bridge, the world's longest teak bridge which is ¾ mile long.

Visit the Mahamuni Paya, where a famed Buddha image is covered over in gold leaf daily by pilgrims — join in and add a small amount of gold leaf to the Buddha.

Visit the Shwei-in-bin Monastery, which is an example of traditional Burmese wooden architecture, the Kuthodaw Pagoda with the world's largest book made of marble, and the stupendous Mandalay Palace complex.

Visit some silk weaving workshops, and go shopping in Mandalay's famed crafts centers, where jade, lacquerware, traditional puppets, and stone carvings are only some of the handicrafts available for purchase.

Invite some local members of the intelligentsia to have dinner with you at the Green Elephant restaurant, which features delicious Burmese and Shan cuisine, along with Thai and Chinese dishes.

Day 5 – Hkamthi, Nagaland

Meet the monks as they make their early-morning alms processions to collect their food donations from the local people.

FOR THE ADVENTUROUS ONLY: After breakfast fly to Nagaland, home of the Naga tribal people, famed for their exotic and colorful costumes including headdresses made of tiger tusks, bear fur, and hornbill feathers. Most Asiaphiles have heard of the Nagas, but few have ever seen them or visited their remote villages. Until recently, the Naga were headhunters who traditionally beheaded their enemies in battle order to avenge other killings, appease the gods, encourage rich harvests or just bring glory to themselves. They hung the heads (with arrows piercing the eyes) and other limbs from trees in order to ward off evil spirits and promote fertile fields. Naga men and women wear only small loincloths as covering, and the women go bear-breasted. They have traditionally tattooed themselves with personal information including their villages and tribes, but this practice is disappearing as Christian and Burman influences on the Nagas bring change to their culture.

Travel to the local capital of Hkamthi from Mandalay by plane. Have dinner with a local Naga tribal leader and his family, and spend the night in their home or in a local guesthouse.

Day 6 – Lahe/ Nauk-Awn, Nagaland

FOR THE ADVENTUROUS ONLY: Travel by charter boat along the Chindwin River, the heart of the Naga region, where locals dive the waters looking for gold. Helicopters are available but are exorbitantly expensive. Your own private entourage includes your guide/translator, driver, private chef, and porters as needed.

Take a 4WD vehicle and by the evening reach the village of Lahe, one of the most isolated places in the world, untouched by modern technology. Lahe is often the site of the Naga New Year's Festival, with traditional dances and performances done by all the different Naga clans, all attired in their finest colorful costumes.

Go on to the Nauk-Awn village where you will be honored guests at a Naga celebration and feast, and the libation of choice is locally brewed Naga rice wine. Stay the night with one of the tribal leaders and his family, or in a renovated school guesthouse.

Day 7 – Machan/ Lahe, Nagaland

FOR THE ADVENTUROUS ONLY: Drive to Machan Naga village by 4WD vehicle and get a taste of local village life, meeting the local people and engaging in their daily activities with them.

Trek for four hours back to Lahe through the beautiful Patkoi Mountains near the Chindwin River.

Participate in a cooking demonstration and tasting in the home of a Lahe tribal leader, and have dinner with his family.

Day 8 – Hkamthi, Nagaland

FOR THE ADVENTUROUS ONLY: Drive back to Hkamthi and visit the Naga museum there, completing a stay in one of the world's most compelling and inaccessible regions. Overnight with a Naga tribal leader and his family again, or in a local guesthouse.

Day 9 – Pagan

Fly to Pagan (Bagan) to begin a visit of one of the world's foremost archaeological wonders. Over 2,000 temples of Hindu and Buddhist style built between the 11th and 13th centuries occupy a magical spot along the banks of the Irrawaddy River.

Spend the day visiting some of the most interesting and least visited of the 2,000 ancient Temples. For a bird's-eye view of the area and a most unforgettable experience, take a hot-air balloon high over Pagan with breathtaking views of the endless temples below.

Check into the lovely Aureum Palace Resort and have a rejuvenating massage or other spa treatment.

Hire a private boat for a romantic sunset dinner cruise on the mighty Irrawaddy River.

Day 10 – Pagan

Visit the vibrant Nyaung-U market of exotic fruits and vegetables before beginning your day trip to Mt. Popa.

A soaring volcanic peak dramatically crowned with a gold stupas, monasteries and shrines, Mt Popa is believed to be the abode of the powerful nats. The devout worship of these animist spirits coexists with Buddhism, and Buddha is considered the greatest of the 37 nats. Mt Popa is an important destination for pilgrims, who must remove their shoes before climbing the 777 steps to the summit rising almost 4,000 feet above the desert below (we don't recommend the climb).

Instead have lunch at the lovely Popa Mountain Resort which has stunning views over the temples and surrounding landscape. Drive back through the countryside and stopping in small villages along the way to learn about rural life in Myanmar.

Have a relaxing dinner at the hotel.

Day 11 – Mindat, Chin State

FOR THE ADVENTUROUS ONLY: Take a charter boat up the Irrawaddy, and then drive by 4WD vehicle to Mindat in Chin State, famed for its intact traditional culture. As in Nagaland, your private entourage includes your guide/translator, driver, private chef, and porters as needed, and helicopters are also available but again are exorbitantly expensive.

The Chin women are famed for their tattooed faces, a tradition that began when they put ink on their faces to avoid being chosen as concubines by the Burmese kings.

Meet the Chin people and visit their homes and learn about their lives. Stay overnight in Mindat at a basic but comfortable guesthouse.

Day 12 – Kyardor, Chin State

FOR THE ADVENTUROUS ONLY: Begin a three-hour trek to far-flung Kyardor village, home to the remote Munn Chin tribe./p>

Participate in the Lun Yu festival, where giant stones are pulled by locals in a contest of strength, and cows and pigs are sacrificed for a huge feast. Take part in a massive celebration, with plenty of rice wine and dancing to make for a most memorable evening.

Again, stay overnight in local guesthouse.

Day 13 – Aye, Chin State

FOR THE ADVENTUROUS ONLY: Drive by 4WD vehicle to Aye village (two hours) or trek on foot (four hours) through many traditional Munn Chin tribal villages, a beautiful area often covered in rhododendrons.

Meet many local families, and talk with people who have never spoken to foreigners. Help them with their daily chores and assist with the preparation of dinner.

Dine with a local family and some of their friends, and stay the night with them in a local Munn Chin house.

Day 14 – Pagan

Return to Pagan by road and charter boat, and be pampered once again in the elegant Aureum Palace Resort.

Day 15

Fly back to Yangon, and then home.

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